Relapse
by helloworld24
Summary: Reid has been acting off lately, and Morgan is determined to find out why. Things get even more heated when a stranger walks in and adds to the trouble.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Reid had been unusually quiet all morning, his head kept down working on paperwork, seemingly determined to avoid everyone in the bullpen that day. This certainly didn't escape Morgan's attention – although sometimes he would tire of the resident genius' ramblings, he had grown fond of them most of the time, and it was painfully obvious that something was off with Reid. Even when Morgan had walked in and said good morning to Reid, Reid didn't so much as glance up from his work and merely mumbled a greeting back.

 _Something is definitely up with him_ , Morgan thought right away. But he had decided not to push Reid just yet – there would be a better time for that later on. Now that he thought about it, it seemed to Morgan that Reid had been distant ever since Morgan returned to work. He felt that uncontrollable twinge in his chest as he flashed back to his recent abduction and torture. Morgan was still working through it, understandably, but what was going on with Reid? Morgan had returned to work, hadn't he? He was still here. Deep down, Morgan knew that Reid would have broken had Morgan not survived, and that broke Morgan's heart. Reid had lost enough people, been abandoned too many times. The poor kid. Reid has suffered more than enough.

No, he wasn't going to confront Reid yet; he didn't want to cause problems between the two just yet in case Reid got defensive and closed up like he usually did when something was bothering him. Morgan made a mental note that morning to keep an eye on Reid. It came naturally to Morgan to watch over him, his brotherly instincts kicking in automatically. He really had grown to care for Reid, and knew that Reid could use a brotherly figure in his life whether or not Reid knew it himself.

Something snapped Morgan out of his reverie. He looked up and what he saw caused him to do a full double take. This was the BAU – not too many new faces came into the bullpen that often, but when they did, the visitors were always painfully out of place. And this newcomer was certainly… Out of place.

She walked with purpose, although you could tell from the look in her eyes that there was some hint of uncertainty. She was nervous for sure, but she tried to hide that. And had it not been for Morgan being a profiler, that fear in her eyes may have gone unnoticed. But what really caught his attention was her undeniable beauty. Standing straight, this woman was regular height and wore black heels that told Morgan that in her everyday life, she had confidence. A light blue blouse was tucked into a black pencil skirt. She was clean cut. _Lawyer, maybe?_ From the bottom up, her tanned legs were perfect, her body – she was a perfect ten all around. Completely and undeniably stunning. Long, straight brown hair that fell perfectly mid-torso accentuated her perfectly structured face. Sharp green eyes that were overly aware of every movement around her were emphasized by a lightly make-upped face. Morgan guessed her age to be around late thirties, but her radiating beauty led him to believe she was easily a hit with guys much younger than that. She seemed ageless, and Morgan then realized that he had been obviously, and embarrassingly so, staring at this visitor. He frantically fumbled around with files to try to look busy.

 _Who is this woman and why is she here? What could she possibly want with the BAU?_ _Maybe he had been right – she was probably a lawyer. It would make sense._

It was then that Morgan realized that her eyes had locked onto a certain someone and she was quickly approaching his direction. Morgan looked around in an attempt to not stare at her but he was at a loss.

She stopped right then and there and suddenly Morgan noticed a shift in her demeanor. Her eyes softened and she was tentative when she reached down and put her hand down on an unsuspecting shoulder.

"Spencer. Can we talk?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Wow! I hardly expected anybody to even read this, let alone favorite/follow it. That means a lot to me! Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it - let me know what you think!

 **Chapter 2**

Reid jumped a mile when the hand touched his shoulder. Not only did he typically shy away from contact, but as soon as he heard the voice, he was left stunned. This was the last person he ever expected to be walking into the bullpen right now.

Recovering quickly from his surprise, Reid stiffened.

"I don't think there's anything to talk about", Reid said making a move to stand up and gather his files. He wasn't quite sure where he was going to go, but he wanted out of that bullpen and fast. It didn't escape his notice that Morgan wasn't even trying to hide the fact that the two had his full attention. Reid might have imagined it, but he was pretty sure he had seen Morgan's mouth drop just a fraction when Reid had been approached by this woman.

"Spence, please. C'mon. You know sooner or later, we have to talk about this".

"You made it very clear last night where you stood on this. And you _definitely_ shouldn't be here", Reid said shortly. He made to move past her, but she pushed him back.

"Will you just _wait a minute_?". There was a hint of desperation in her voice. "Look at me."

Slowly, forcefully, Reid managed to meet her eyes. Those eyes were so familiar to him. She always had been a hard-ass, but when her gaze met his, she was always gentle with him. There were few people in this world that this woman cared for, and Reid was one of them. She was able to offer him a sense of comfort despite any circumstances. Behind the scenes, Morgan's eyes moved rapidly back and forth between Reid and this woman, waiting for the inevitable argument about to explode.

"I came to apologize. As soon as you walked out last night, I knew I messed up. Badly. Please Spence. We really need to talk", she pleaded with him.

" _Olivia_ ", he said sternly. She inwardly cringed – he only ever called her Olivia when he was extremely upset – confirmation for just how much she messed up this time. " _Now is not the time._ You can't just expect me to pretend I'm alright with what happened. You can apologize all you want to, but you still said what you said, and you and I both know that you can't deny that's how you really felt. You can't pretend like there wasn't truth behind your words – there was a reason you said those things. Just forget it, alright? I have work to do and I know you should be… Not here. So just… leave, okay?"

With that, Reid pushed past her and walked into the round table room. He had been very clear – this conversation was over. He had left this woman standing there, staring after him. She swallowed hard, and looked down to the floor. She put her fingers up to her head and massaged her temples, clearly caught between frustration and resignation. Taking a deep breath in and finally exhaling it all out, she looked up at Morgan who was still watching. Reluctantly, she looked away again and slowly moved toward the door.

Leaving Morgan more confused than ever.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Alright, for those of you who have been waiting, you get to find out who this mystery woman is! Tell me what you think and if you saw it coming.. And again, I thank you to everyone following this story, I love that you guys are enjoying this.

 **Chapter 3**

"Baby Girl, I need something from you", Morgan greeted Garcia in his usual fashion.

"Well, sugar, I'm a tad busy right now, but if you insist, I have to charge extra", she retorted.

"I need you to work some of your magic for me. I think Reid might have a girlfriend and I want you to find out who she is."

"Reid… What?" Garcia just turned to Morgan and blinked a few times.

"You missed the whole thing. This woman came in and started talking to Reid. I've never seen her before, but Reid clearly knows her well. They were arguing about something that happened last night and I don't know… It sounds like a girlfriend… And if it's a girlfriend well, I gotta hand it to him 'cuz WOW."

Garcia rolled her eyes. "Gimme a number… 1 to 10"

"13 Garcia. I mean, I love Reid and all, and I know he hit it off with that actress, but even that doesn't compare to this woman. I gotta find out who she is. I knew something was off with Reid – this must be it"

"Alright, tell me what you got, Sweet Cheeks", Garcia waited with her fingers perched above her keyboard.

"Ummm… Well her name is Olivia"

"And..?"

"And that's all I got"

Garcia sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're lucky I like you. Go finish your work, this could take a while. I'll come back to you when you I find something"

"Thanks, Woman"

"Mhmmm", Garcia hummed. Morgan then walked back into the bullpen, and was thankful that Reid had not yet returned. He had waited a little while before walking into Garcia's lair, hoping not to raise a red flag as to what he was doing. After a few more minutes, Reid returned with his files back to his desk. Anger was practically radiating from him… _Now it's definitely not time to talk to him about anything._

Morgan looked back down at his paperwork, keeping his fingers crossed that Garcia would find something that would help explain who this mystery woman was.

It was a rather quiet day at the BAU, with not much going on other than paperwork. After a few more hours of work, Garcia came shuffling out of her lair and up to Morgan, rushing with urgency while trying not to raise too much attention at the same time.

" _Morgan"_ she hissed. " _Get in here right now."._ Morgan rushed after Garcia, attempting to hide his excitement.

"So, it took a while but… But tell me this is her", she said, pulling up a picture of a gorgeous brunette.

"Yup. That's her one hundred percent", Morgan nodded.

"You really wanna know who she is?"

"Do I not want to know or something?" Morgan asked hesitantly.

Ignoring Morgan's question, Garcia pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose.

"This woman that you see right here… Is Reid's sister."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** So, I decided to update again because I already had the chapter written and I'm not really sure what I was waiting for… So here it is! And I realize that I never made a disclaimer, but if it's necessary and not already overtly obvious – I do not own Criminal Minds unfortunately.

Chapter 4

*Last Night*

Olivia had been in the kitchen preparing dinner for her and her husband after a long day of work. She was exhausted and in a bad mood. Just then, a knock on the door caused her to heart to speed up. It was rare that she had visitors – especially since they had moved in a few months ago and had yet to make any kind of "friends". She walked carefully to the door and peeked through the peephole.

Smiling at the visitor, she unlocked the door and opened it for her little brother.

Reid smiled at her while she held the door open, and he walked inside. Closing the door, she faced him and the two embraced in a hug. They didn't get to see each other too often – they both had demanding jobs. But he still relied on her, and she knew it. She hadn't been there for him much growing up, and she had spent her entire adulthood trying to make up for that.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything", Reid said apologetically.

"No no, I'm just making dinner. If I had known you were coming, I would have made mo-" Olivia stopped short. "You never just show up without notice. What's going on?" She looked at him suspiciously and Reid immediately dropped his gaze to his feet. He may be the FBI profiler but she could always read her brother like an open book.

"Spence, you need to talk to me. What's wrong? Something's up"

Reid knew he wasn't going to get out of it. He came here to talk to her about it anyways, but he wanted to do it in his own time. It all happened so quickly and before he could even process it, he felt his eyes sting as tears threatened to well up. He desperately tried to suppress them and he brought his shaking hands up and rubbed his face. "I just…" Reid couldn't even get the words out before he finally lost it. Tears flowed freely and desperately tried to get his emotions under control. Olivia had closed the distance between the two and lovingly rubbed both of his arms up and down the way a parent would a child. In many ways, they had a strange relationship - she was a mother to him as well as a sister. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a reassuring hug once again.

After a few minutes, Reid was able to take a few deep breaths and he found his voice again. "There was something that I didn't tell you about that day… When Morgan was taken from that grocery store". While Reid's team didn't know about her, Olivia knew all about them. Reid still refused to meet her eye, and this scared her more than anything.

"Liv, I really thought that I was never going to see him again." The overwhelming guilt that hung in his expression was freaking Olivia out, although she tried hard not to show it.

"And I thought I was going to lose him… And we're losing Mom now and I… I panicked. It just got so bad… I didn't… I really tried… It's just". Reid was rambling now, tripping over his words, desperate to make her understand.

"Spence… Please tell me you didn't", Olivia sighed, disappointment welling up inside her. How could he throw it all away?

Words were failing him, so he just pulled up his dress shirtsleeve reluctantly, fresh track marks showing on the crook of his arm.

Olivia closed her eyes, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I just don't understand… You worked so hard. It's been almost ten years, Spence. How could you do that to yourself?"

Reid visibly winced at the slight hint of accusation in her voice.

When he didn't speak right away, Olivia took the opportunity and continued. "Why didn't you come talk to me? You had options, Spence. People to go to. You need to stop pushing everyone away. Look what you're doing to yourself." Olivia realized she was fuming, but she couldn't stop herself. All the frustrations of the week and the underlying hurt at knowing that her own brother felt like he couldn't even come to her when he was having problems, welled up inside her and she lashed out at Reid. "Jeez, it's like you were waiting for an excuse to do this. You could have stopped it. You didn't have to – it's not like he was actually dead. You know it doesn't solve anything anyways. You know, for a genius, you can be so goddamn stupid sometimes. You just potentially threw away your whole career. Your life." She was left, shaking her head at him, trying to fathom just how badly he had to have been hurting to feel like he needed the very drug that was ruining his life a decade ago.

"I just don't understand, Spence", she said quietly.

During her rant, Reid had stiffened up and the tears had stopped flowing. He realized that he was now on his own – he knew he couldn't speak to anybody about the mistakes that he made. Not his own sister, and certainly not his team – he would lose his job. Hotch had made it clear that he couldn't cover up Reid's drug abuse a second time. Feeling more lost than ever, Reid didn't even grace her with an explanation of any sort. Damn, if he didn't feel awful right now. His own sister just turned on him and he was truly on his own. Slowly, he turned from her and began his walk toward the door.

"No don't, Spence", Olivia said, noticing Reid shut down right before her eyes. "Wait." she called out to him, but he was already closing the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** So, when you read this chapter, you may find a similarity – Reid's sister is loosely based on Olivia Wilde/13 from House because I really love her as an actress and I love her character, so she has some of the same qualities, but you don't have to see her that way either – it's all up to you. Sorry for such a short chapter – I'll update soon with the next one, and thank you everyone who is following/favoriting this story!

 **Chapter 5**

"Reid's what?" Morgan asked incredulously.

"Reid's. Sister." Garcia repeated. "Olivia Kathryn Hadley. She's four years older than Reid, took her mother's maiden name while Reid obviously took his father's. She graduated from Yale Medical top of her class and now works in a hospital not far from here for the Diagnostics Department. Smart girl – like brother, like sister I guess. IQ of 165 and is recently married to a Jonathan Haywood: Computer Software Engineer in Fairfax, Virginia. She seems to be doing really well for herself based on her financial information. Seems pretty cut and dry to me - normal woman, good job, good husband, in good health... She seems to have a good life", Garcia said shrugging her shoulders. "Can't imagine why Reid wouldn't want us to know about her."

"Reid's what?" Morgan repeated, blinking at the screen in front of him.

" _Sister_ , Morgan, sister. Nobody knew about her, the files were sealed, they had different last names and everything. I doubt even Hotch or Gideon ever knew about her either. There's barely anything here that connects the two. Reid obviously didn't want us knowing about her for some reason. I just find that hard to believe – this whole time I thought it was just him and his mom. Phone records show that they keep in touch often – she didn't just appear out of thin air."

"Reid _did_ seem thrown off by her showing up. He told her that she shouldn't be here", Morgan recalled.

"Well, all I'm saying is that this woman is Reid's older sister. How she slipped my radar, I don't even want to know. I guess I just never thought that any of you guys would be hiding secret family members." Garcia continued to stare at her screens, deep in thought.

"If that's his sister then… I'm so confused", Morgan thought. Shaking his head, all he could manage to say was, "What the hell is happening here?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

*Last Night*

Reid had slammed the door behind him when he left. Olivia had messed up big time and she knew it. She let out a sigh of frustration and closed her eyes. Just then, she felt the strong, comforting hands of her husband rest on her shoulders and give them a light squeeze.

"Do you want to talk about it?", Jonathan asked quietly.

"He's using again", she said simply.

Jonathan nodded at the news, and thought for a minute before speaking again. "So, you told him that you're going to help him through it, right?"

Olivia remained quiet, seeing where he was going.

"You told him that you loved him right? That you would be there for him, no matter what? That you weren't going to let him go it on his own like he did the last time? You told him that it's not his fault, right? Because what's done is done. He came to you after the fact, because he needed you to help him pick up the pieces. Not for you to judge him on something that he can't undo"

Olivia let his words hang in the air for some time. Damn, she hated it when he was right – which was, actually, most of the time. Curse her, for she had married the perfect man – he was always acutely aware of people's emotions, and he always knew just how to fix things. How to make things better.

She had fallen for him so quickly, which scared her because she was independent – she relied on nobody. Given her past with her father walking out on her, it was no wonder she had trust issues with men. But Jonathan had been more than patient with her, so understanding. Standing tall at 6 foot 2, Jonathan was a domineering presence. Short dark hair matched his dark eyes. He was tall and lean, athletic, but very un-threatening to the people who knew him. To others, she and Jonathan were the "perfect couple", both exceptionally intelligent, good-looking, and caring people. All around successful in everything they seemed to do. Jonathan was as soft and as caring as they came, except for when someone hurt those he loved. Then, he was scary. But more than anything, he was without a doubt, a family man. He would make a great father one day, she knew. And Olivia realized that she had really fallen in love with him when he took to Reid so quickly. So patient unlike the others, he humored Reid and if he had gotten tired of hearing his incessant ramblings about who-knows-what, Jonathan never showed it. He grew to love Reid in his own way and Reid took to him as well. That was a big sigh of relief for Olivia, knowing that she would have to keep this guy no matter what.

"So how badly did I just mess everything up?" Olivia asked, knowing that he had overheard their fight from their bedroom but was too polite to intervene. He also knew it was far from his place to get in the middle of the two siblings.

"You can fix this", is all he said.

"Shit", she sighed. Pulling from his embrace, she headed back toward the kitchen. She would deal with this later.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was nearing the end of the day, and outside from the argument Reid had had with his sister, Morgan had not heard a single word come from his mouth. He guessed now was as good a time as ever.

"So Reid… Who was that woman that came in here looking for you this morning?" Morgan tried ask innocently.

"Huh?" Reid looked up. "Oh… Nobody important", he said dismissively.

"So you're saying you're not close with your sister then?" Morgan prodded. Reid's head jerked back up. Now Morgan had his full attention.

"What did you just say?" Reid asked.

"That _was_ your sister, yes? Now that I think about it, I can see it. There's something I can't quite put my finger on."

"Morgan, stay out of this. It's none of your business, and I don't even _want_ to know how you know that." Reid had decided that he wasn't going to deal with this any longer. He made a move to start packing his things. He just wanted to go home and be away from everyone. All the stress from the day, the fight with his sister, Morgan's prying questions - Reid was craving badly. He worked hard to keep the tremors in his hands from being noticed but his veins were screaming for relief. He just had to get back to his apartment.

But Morgan wasn't going to just roll over and die. Picking up his things, Morgan was determined to follow Reid out the door. "So why didn't you tell any of us that you had a sister? What's up with that?"

"If I tell you that, will you leave me alone?" Reid asked impatiently, ready to give up anything if it meant he could get out of here faster.

"Sure, Kid. Fine".

"When my dad walked out on me and my mom, my sister was there too. I think she took it the hardest of all of us. But it did something to her, you know? She totally just closed up. She didn't trust anybody anymore. She was really smart too, and hard working. She put herself through med school, and between that and paying for it with two jobs, she didn't really have time for me. She was never around and I was left to take care of my mother. So in some ways, it really was just me and my mom for a long time. I didn't blame her though, she had to move on with her life. When she turned eighteen, she changed her name back to my mother's maiden name. She wanted nothing to do with our father. When she finished schooling, she came back around and we got close again. She apologized for leaving me. Around this time, I was at the Academy. When I got the job at the BAU, we decided it was best to keep it a secret that I had a sister. And in a way, it turned out for the best, didn't it? I mean, look at what happened to Hotch's family when Foyet went after them. And Gideon… Look what happened to him when Sarah died. It destroyed him. We have a dangerous job, Morgan. I did it to protect her. Unsubs can't go after families that they don't know exist. So no, I didn't tell you about me having a sister, but right now, it doesn't seem to matter anymore because I think I just lost her again…"

"Hey Kid. Talk to me. What's been going on with you two?"

Morgan tried to make eye contact with Reid who wasn't about to give in. "Nothing is up. Just tired", he mumbled as the two made their way into the elevator. "Reid, you can't keep pushing people away like this. You block me out. You block everyone out but you need to talk. Whatever's bothering you, you can tell me, Reid. C'mon." Morgan practically begged.

Continuing to stare at the floor, Reid breathed in and started, "I messed up. And she had every right to be angry with me. But I'm also not willing to apologize nor am I going to accept her apology. I'm done trusting people, getting close to them – it's just not worth it. It's just… messy business."

"Reid, c'mon. You know that's not true, where is all of this coming from?" Morgan asked.

Finally, Reid turned around and met his eye. "We almost lost you that night", he said quietly. Suddenly unsure of himself, Reid averted his gaze. "You know, all my life… You're the only one who's never left me. My father walked out, Gideon left, my mom sometimes doesn't even remember she has a son. Hell, even my sister wasn't there for me for a while. But I could always count on you to be there. Even when I didn't want to talk, I knew that you would still be right there, waiting for when I was ready. And if you were gone then…" Reid refused to finish the sentence.

Guilt welled up in Morgan's chest. He was apparently just as important to Reid as he knew that Reid was to him. If Reid had lost his one true life line, then he would be completely devastated. Reid needed him, and for Reid to admit that almost scared Morgan – Reid didn't ever admit that he needed people. He went his whole life, as far as Morgan knew, going it alone. Morgan knew that as long as he was alive, he would be there for Reid and he couldn't imagine what Reid must have been going through while Morgan was with his captors.

"Kid, I'm not going anywhere, I promise you that. But there's something more going on here

than just that. You've been so distant lately and almost losing me doesn't explain that. Nor does having that argument with your sister. What was that all about?"

"I slipped up," he said, barely audibly his voice ridden with guilt. Reid looked completely and utterly ashamed, and with that look, Morgan finally understood.

"Aw Reid", he shook his head. "It should never be that bad that you have to go back to that"

"I know, I know. I just didn't know what else to do. At that point, I thought, it didn't really matter anymore. And I get that I messed up, but I just don't think I can fix it. Not again."

"Reid, yes you can. And you will. You have me this time. And you and I both know that you'll come around and fix things with your sister. Things will get better, Kid, you have to believe that."

All Reid could do was nod as they stood in the foyer. "Hang in there, Kid. We'll fix this, I promise you. You can't give up. I'll see you tomorrow", Morgan said, leaning in and giving Reid's shoulder a quick squeeze before walking out the door.

 **Author's Note:** This chapter seems pretty ironic given the actual goings-on of the show right now… Which I will admit, I _lost_ it at that Morgan-Reid moment in "Beautiful Mess". For my sake (and my sanity), I'm just going to pretend that it never happened. ALSO, as there is most likely only going to be one more chapter of this little story, I wanted to know if there is anything you guys want to see in future stories? I'm looking for ideas and I want to write something that people actually want to read so any feedback would be greatly appreciated! And I really appreciate everybody who has stuck it out through this story so far – you're awesome.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Author's Note:** After reading a review from someone, I realize that I should make this clear/why I did what I did. Reid did not get angry with Morgan in the last chapter because he was _that_ desperate from withdrawals. He was closed off before primarily because he was angry with his sister, not because of his anger that we've seen come from addiction – so he wasn't angry with Morgan. Morgan is the only person that Reid would actually open up to realistically at this point, and he was more upset about his sister than anything else, which is why he was so easy to break. I see now from a dramatic perspective, this take could have been boring, so I'm sorry! (I did say this way my first fanfic!) I guess I didn't think that one through. But anyways, here's the last chapter…

"Wheels up in thirty", Hotch said as the team began to disperse. They had a case in Washington and it would be a long flight. Reid and Morgan approached the bullpen to grab their go bags. It had been three days since Reid's fight with his sister, and they hadn't talked since. But when they got back to their desks, Reid had found his already occupied.

Olivia stood up immediately and before he could say anything she got right to the point, "Listen, Spence. I know that you're angry and you have every right to be. But please hear me out - I was wrong and I'm so sorry. It's just that you've come so far since then and I hate to see you struggle. And I was hurt that you didn't come to me. But that was no excuse to blow up on you and it was probably the worst reaction possible given the circumstances. I never meant any of that, I really didn't. You don't deserve to hurt like this, and I want to help you. I really want to help you. And I get that you're upset and the last thing you want from me is help, but despite all of that, I just want you to know that I'm here. And I'll always be here. I'm not going anywhere anymore and you need to understand that I love you. You're so loved, Spence, and I'm not going to let you mess your life up because I need you here." Tears were overflowing as all of her emotions took over. "I need you here", she whispered.

Reid just stood there, taking in the scene. Seeing his sister standing there, pleading with him to forgive her, all the anger and frustration melted away. He wasn't mad anymore. If anything, he felt guilty for making her feel this way. He simply walked forward and embraced his sister tightly. Morgan watched as the two held tightly to each other and smiled to himself.

Reid was going to get through this. It was all going to be alright.

 **Author's Note:** Soooo… that's it! Thank you so much to everyone who read up to this point! Let me know what you think, as always, and if this OC is worth getting rid of or maybe popping up in another story here and there.


End file.
